Taishan's AFC Champions League journey and the future of the national football team
Choi Kang-hee, a familiar name, has been at the helm of Taishan since May 2023, leading the team to prominence in the AFC Champions League. (Image source: Official Weibo Shandong Taishan FC)
In the February 20 AFC Champions League 1/8 finals, Shandong Taishan away to 4:2 reversed to beat Kawasaki Striker, the total score of 6 points, 5 points of reversal success, and the team's history of the best AFC Champions League record on a par. This victory undoubtedly for Chinese soccer and fans injected a dose of "strong needle". At a time when Yankovic's coaching performance is poor and the replacement of the national team's head coach is in the air, some netizens have called for the Taishan team to be used as a basis for inviting Choi Kang-hee to come out and take the helm of the national team.
In the match of Kawasaki Striker, the performance of domestic players was remarkable: Li Yuan was in danger in front of the field and helped the team to attack Rexan's goal; Gao Junyi instigated the counterattack and the number of goals exceeded one; Wang Dalei made a flying save and destroyed the opponent's excellent opportunity. These players have won the praise of the fans for their wonderful performances. Despite the fact that these players have not made many appearances in the national team, fans have voiced their expectation that the national team will give more opportunities to Taishan players.
On March 26, the national football team will compete with Singapore at the Tianjin Olympic Sports Center Stadium, officially opening the 2026 U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup qualifying tour of 36 strong. The game is coming up, but the mystery of the coaching change of the national football team remains unsolved.
However, it seems unlikely that Choi Kang-hee will become the head coach of the national team. He has shown little interest in the national team coaching position, and some South Korean media have even pointed out that Choi will refuse to coach the Chinese men's soccer team for "physical reasons".
Cressan, the man responsible for Taishan's promotion, is at the top of the AFC Champions League's scorers list with 8 goals so far. Chinese fans are full of love for Cressan's performance and are eager for him to wear the Chinese team's jersey and play for his country.
According to FIFA rules, Crezan must have lived in China for five years in order to play for the national soccer team. Crezan joined Taishan in April 2022, and with less than 2 years of Chinese Super League career, he will not meet the naturalization requirement until April 2027 at the earliest. By then, he will be 30 years old.
